eBPF is buzzing all over the cloud native world, as the cutting-edge technology reshaping the way we understand performance, security, and observability within kernel space. Java, with its recent strides in modernization and optimization, from enhancing startup times to facilitating native execution and advancing machine learning applications, stands at the cusp of this transformative era.
Join us in this journey, where we will embark on an ambitious challenge to write and build a high-throughput firewall leveraging the combined power of eBPF and Java. We'll start with a deep dive into eBPF's capabilities for kernel-level packet manipulation, then transition to how Java's latest advancements, particularly through Project Panama, enable seamless native code invocation and interoperability. Our focus will then converge to a hands-on demonstration of building a simple firewall using eBPF and Java, integrating kernel-level operations with high-level programming for real-time performance enhancements.
Attendees will gain practical insights into deploying eBPF programs from Java using the hello-ebpf library, managing packet flows efficiently, and implementing firewall rules with precision, leveraging the strengths of both worlds.
Interview:
What's the focus of your work these days?
I’m focused on improving Java profilers and developing better tools for interacting with profiling data. As a side quest, I’m also working to introduce eBPF to more developers, particularly those experienced in Java.
What technical aspects of your role are most important?
Continuously learning new technologies and improving existing ones are crucial. I also frequently ask myself, “Why couldn’t we do XYZ?” to challenge the status quo and drive innovation.
How does your InfoQ Dev Summit Munich session address current challenges or trends in the industry?
eBPF is becoming a key technology in software-defined networking, monitoring, and security. My session aims to provide developers with insights into popular eBPF applications, helping them understand its potential and how eBPF can address these evolving industry challenges.
How do you see the concepts discussed in your InfoQ Dev Summit Munich session shaping the future of the industry?
eBPF is set to become increasingly important in the near future. While it began with network packet filtering, its use has expanded to monitoring, profiling, and security. The community is actively working on implementing more kernel functionalities with eBPF, like schedulers and potentially memory subsystems. As eBPF continues to evolve, it will significantly impact the efficiency and flexibility of system operations.
Speaker
Johannes Bechberger
Software Developer @SAP, OpenJDK Developer and Creator of the Only Java eBPF Library @SAP SE
Johannes Bechberger is a JVM developer working on profilers and their underlying technology in the SapMachine team at SAP. This includes improvements to async-profiler and its ecosystem, a website to view the different JFR event types, and improvements to the FirefoxProfiler, making it usable in the Java world. He started at SAP last year after two years of research studies at the KIT in the field of Java security analyses. His work today is comprised of many open-source contributions and his blog, where he writes regularly on in-depth profiling and debugging topics.
